EOSC Theatre to present “Big Love” March 7-9

3/3/2014

WILBURTON, OK (March 3, 2014) – The Eastern Oklahoma State College Theatre Department’s next production will be a unique staging of “Big Love,” by American playwright Charles L. Mee. The play will be presented March 7 and 8 at 7 p.m. and March 9 at 2 p.m. in Mitchell Auditorium in Wilburton.

“Big Love” is about 50 brides who flee to a manor in Italy to avoid marrying their 50 cousins. While the brides and grooms wait for their wedding day, the characters raise issues of gender politics, love and domestic violence.

“Big Love is directed in the round, which means that audience members will be seated on stage with the actors,” said Sarah Klocke, EOSC theatre director and instructor. “The play addresses men’s and women’s inability to communicate past gender roles and this type of staging creates an intimacy which is necessary to this script.”

The cast of “Big Love” includes Jesseca Shipman of Kiowa as Lydia; Amanda Moore of Krebs as Olympia; Hannah Truitt of Wilburton as Thyona; Clay Humphreys of Kiowa as Bella; Dana Welch of McCurtain as Eleanor; Colby Cole of Atoka as Piero/Leo; Alex Vann of McAlester as Giuliano; Zach Olinger of Checotah as Constantine; Carlos Gonzales of McAlester as Oed; and Monty Montgomery of Wilburton as Niko. Marshall Carby, EOSC humanities and theatre instructor, served as lighting designer and special effects artist.

Klocke said she is particularly proud of the play’s student designers. Shipman is the costume designer, Cole is the assistant costume designer and Humphreys is the sound designer. All of the student designers recently traveled to the Regional Kennedy Center American College Theatre Festival at Centenary College in Shreveport, La. The students were able to interact with other student designers and study research and proposal techniques.

Admission for “Big Love” is $5 for adults and free for Eastern students with an EOSC ID.